The Universe Story

Description

This talk is about the story of the unfolding universe (13.7 billion years) and how we, as a species, on the Earth (6.7+/- billion years old), are very, very recent arrivals in the “story”. Our presence on Earth is the result of billions of years of very specific activities in the cosmos. If this activity had not taken place, in the way that it did, we, and countless other species wouldn’t be here; ironically, the “story” is not about US. We play a unique and vital role as part of the natural wonder on this planet. So what is the “story” about? What is our purpose here on Earth? What does it matter that we are literally born out of “star stuff”? How can we relate to this bizarre, seemingly sci-fi story about the cosmos? These and other questions will be answered in this talk. Source information is based on cosmology work done by Brian Swimme, Tomas Berry and others. Because of the talk is so brief, it will be visually humorous, laced with irony and consist of generally mind-blowing information about who we are and how we fit into the Universe Story.

JIm Ayala

Jim was born in Oakland, California. He lived for many years in the San Francisco Bay area. He recently moved to Portland from Seattle. Sculpting, drawing, poetry and story-telling are Jim’s primary creative outlets. Jim’s “day job” is a freelance Process Engineer. Jim is fascinated with recent discoveries in astronomy, quantum theory and cosmology.